


Special Occasions

by enchantment



Series: Who's In Love With The Big Bad Wolf? [2]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2017-12-25 15:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/954695
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enchantment/pseuds/enchantment
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Holidays with a Time Lord aren't as much cause for celebration as you'd think. Set before Two Sides Of A Conversation. **Part of the Who's In Love With The Big Bad Wolf? series**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: In the Third Doctor era, there is a television story called "Sea Devils" and while the Master is imprisoned, he watches the Clangers on television thinking that they are an alien life form. He even goes so far as to imitate their whistling until the warden informs him that they are merely puppets on a children's television show. I highly recommend watching this scene as it was Roger Delgado's Master at his comic best.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who or the Clangers.

**Christmas**

It's been three months since she first met the Master, three months of learning about each other, learning to trust each other, and trusting and accepting what they both feel for one another. It's also the first Christmas for both of them in Pete's World so she invites him along to go Christmas shopping with her and take in the festivities along the way. If she only knew how much of a Scrooge he was, she would have left him at home.

They take their time strolling through the streets of London, hand in hand, passing carolers along the way. "You're off-key," he mentions casually as they stroll by. She stops when she sees a Salvation Army worker and searches for her wallet to drop in a donation for Father Christmas' kettle. "What are you doing?" he asks as he attempts to wrestle her wallet from her. "He obviously doesn't need the money, Rose! Look at that fur, I may not be expert but I'm almost positive that's real ermine!" She blushes fiercely in embarrassment and murmurs her apologies as she drops in a few more pounds than she had intended to before reclaiming the Master's hand and hurrying them on their way.

The Master is ineffectively trying to pull Rose to a halt or at least slow her down when he spies a window display featuring children's television characters and instantly changes tactic and begins to speed up their pace. Unfortunately for him, Rose has seen the same display and with a shriek of delight, drags him straight over to it.

While she stares at the window and admires all of the different characters in simulations of their television show settings, each of them strategically placed to entice any child or present-seeking adult on a mission, he turns away in revulsion and recalls the humiliation of not only being imprisoned by humans, but on believing the Clangers to be a new intelligent life form that he had yet to encounter. _Stupid whistling._

Once Rose has had her fill, she drags him to Henrik's Department Store to begin her Christmas shopping for her family and friends. She gives him a tongue in teeth grin and remarks with an approving nod, "They did a nice job rebuilding the place after our first meeting."

He grins at the memory and then suddenly frowns as he notices the extensive line of children and their parents. "Please tell me that we're not going to have to wait in _that._ "

"No," she denies laughingly. "That line's for the children who are waiting to see Father Christmas and tell him what they want for Christmas."

"Good," he grumbles as he views the throngs of shoppers pushing and shoving their way through the store, "I hate waiting."

"Yeah, so do I," mutters Rose, thinking about how they had yet to pass the handholding stage of their relationship and share their first kiss. _Maybe it's simply a Time Lord thing, regardless of the Time Lord._

They're about to brave the crush of shoppers when a little girl tugs on the sleeve of the Master's trench coat and squeals, "I'm going to meet Father Christmas today, and he's going to bring me a new doll, a kitchen set, a bicycle, a recorder, a train set and best of all, a whole family of Clangers along with the Soup Dragon!"

"How nice, I can't tell you how pleased I am at your impending infestation of toy vermin," he replies so kindly that the little girl doesn't catch the insult.

"Thanks!" she chirps as she jumps up and down.

Before the Master can tell the girl to bugger off, and Rose knows full well that he's about to, her mother rushes up to them frantically searching for her daughter. "There you are, Anna! I'm so sorry, she ran off as soon as she saw the line of children." She takes her daughter's hand and urges, "Come on, sweetheart, you don't want to miss Father Christmas, do you?"

Usually one to avoid domestics at all cost, the Master feels that he can't help but caution the woman and her daughter about the potential dangers that await them. He grunts softly while his mouth twists into a grimace. Rose must be rubbing off on him. "Madam, forgive my bluntness but I must ask you something for the safety of your child. You do realize that you are waiting in line so that your child can sit on the lap of a complete stranger, accept candy of unknown origin from him and have photographic documentation taken that will be accessible on their website?" he warns her as he points to the store's advertising sign informing customers of the variety of options that they can use to receive their photos.

Mother and child can only stand on in silent horror as he adds, "And are you even aware that Father Christmas isn't even his real name? Who even goes by a title these days?"

"Gee, I don't know, _Master_ ," hisses Rose as she pulls him away from the traumatized child, "I can't think of anyone, can you?" She turns her brightest smile onto the two females and apologizes, "I'm so sorry, you'll have to excuse him, he's had a bit too much excitement today, you see it's his first day out in a very long time," as she motions her forefinger in a large circle near her head.

The mother and daughter nod in sync before quietly heading back to the line. "I know what that means, Rose," he growls at her, oblivious to the odd stares that they're receiving from everyone moving past them.

"Good, mate," then I shouldn't have to explain this finger gesture to you either!" which she hastily makes before making her way to the toy department.

He watches her enter the store as he takes his time following her. _I hope she saves some of that anger for Father Christmas,_ he muses as he darts a suspicious glance towards the unsuspecting man.

**888888888888888**

Hours later, the Christmas party is in full swing and Rose slumps down into a chair in the vacant Alien Artifacts area of Torchwood hoping for some peace and quiet. "How long do we have to stay here?" grouses the Master as he leans against a desk opposite her.

"You don't have to stay here at all, you're free to go anytime," she informs him with a saccharine smile. "However, I need to stay here and mingle as I am the Director's daughter." Her face promptly falls into a perturbed frown when he doesn't move from his spot. "Why did you follow me in here anyway?"

"Because your inebriated mother keeps waving the Clanger set that she bought Tony in my face and slurring, 'If you need me, just whistle', he answers in a disgusted tone.

He notices that she remains quiet after his small attack on her mother, which is very unusual for her. Well, remaining quiet for a Tyler woman at all is strange in any circumstance, really.

"What's wrong with you?" he questions with a trace of concern. "I thought you loved this stuff. Or are you as bored as I am with all of this festive fodder lying about?" He flicks over a tiny ceramic reindeer, its flashing nose a beacon of hideousness in his eyes.

"Actually, I was enjoying myself in there, it's not often that I have a chance to laugh and visit with my family and friends without being called away on an urgent mission." She fixes him with a pointed glare, "However, your bah humbug attitude is depressing the hell out of me so if you're just going to sit there like some stroppy git all night, I'd rather you just go home!"

"Stroppy? I'm not stroppy?" he proclaims in his defense. "You're thinking of the Doctor, not me." No response from that comment either, he must be in trouble.

Watching her spirit become more downtrodden and feeling a bit guilty for causing it, especially after her family has continually made the effort to recruit him into their collective of holiday good cheer, he considers what he can offer her to make amends. He spies exactly what he needs almost immediately. "Well, what do we have here? This little sprig just so happens to be my favorite alien artifact of all times."

He dangles the mistletoe in front of her face, noting that she's doing her best to fight off a smile, and holds it above her head until her grin is full blown and accompanied by a come hither look as she beckons him towards her.

He bends down towards her and inquires, "Am I forgiven then?"

She bears the faintest hint of a pout as she accuses, "You don't play fair."

"All's fair in love and war, Rose T-," he breaks off as he's unexpectedly jerked closer when she grabs his necktie.

"Shut up," she orders as she tugs him even closer.

And that was the moment that they finally had their first kiss.


	2. Valentine's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holidays with a Time Lord aren't as much cause for celebration as you'd think. Set before Two Sides Of A Conversation. **Part of the Who's In Love With The Big Bad Wolf? series**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Since Rose and the Master were trapped for three years in Pete's World for this 'verse, I'm not going to do the holidays in order but as they come to me. Also, this version of the Master doesn't have the sound of the drums in his head so although he won't exhibit the wild insanity that the last Master had, the craftiness will remain.

**Author's Note:** Since Rose and the Master were trapped for three years in Pete's World for this 'verse, I'm not going to do the holidays in order but as they come to me. Also, this version of the Master doesn't have the sound of the drums in his head so although he won't exhibit the wild insanity that the last Master had, the craftiness will remain.

**Valentine's Day**

Rose watches on in wistful silence as the last of the agents leave the office, each woman and even some of the men having stopped by her desk throughout the day, eager to share their plans of celebrating with the one that they love.

She doodles aimlessly on her scratch pad while wondering about the Master, where he is and what he is doing. She recalls their last conversation earlier in the day when she had asked if he wanted to do anything special in the evening.

**888888888888888**

" _Why would we do anything special?" he questioned belligerently. "Please tell me that you haven't fallen into that capitalist trap for sentimental fools?"_

_He spun his chair back towards his terminal and resumed typing on his keyboard. "Today's not any different than any other day on the human calendar with the exception of its crass commercialism and blatant use of opportunity to sell off the chocolates and alcohol that the retailers couldn't rid themselves of on Christmas and New Year's Eve."_

_Without warning, the Master promptly pushed away from his desk with a groan of frustration. "This archaic technology is completely useless to me!" He rubs the back of his neck while glaring at the screen before coming to a decision. "There's something I need to go investigate if you want this mess cleared up!"_

_Rose automatically began to rise from her chair to join him when he halted her as he added, "On my own."_

**888888888888888**

After that jarring and somewhat hurtful announcement, he had left the building and she had yet to see or hear from him since. Now, she was left sitting at her desk to remember all of the times that the Doctor had left her behind without a second glance and how that was something that she had never had to worry about with the Master, at least until today.

She's brought out of her musings when she hears a few soft thumps from various items landing in front of her. Rose's gaze travels across her desk to discover a variety of boxes of her favorite candy that appear to be the type of sweets that you would buy in the movie theater.

Her eyes dart upwards to the Master and she watches in fascination as he reaches into his inner bigger on the inside pockets of his suit jacket to withdraw three more objects in rapid succession and drop those on her desk as well.

"What's this then?" she inquires curiously.

"These are your gifts," he proclaims as he reaches once more inside his jacket and tosses her a red envelope before dropping into his desk chair. "Happy Valentine's Day, Rose."

She takes in his posture and tone, both exuding extreme boredom, and flashes her trademark grin when she views her presents and can instantly see why his manner is the way it is, instead of the expectant hopefulness of the average bloke.

She slides the card out of the envelope and finds Secret Squirrel staring back at her with a pair of rattling googly eyes while under a banner of tiny magnifying glasses melded together to state, 'Happy Valentines Day!' The inside of the card delivers a heartfelt avowal of 'I'm nuts about you' on one side and the Master's elegant scrawl decorates the other.

_Dear Rose,_

_I regret my transgression of momentary lapse in memory. I should have remembered that these petty human traditions are in accordance with our courtship and from this moment forth, I vow to tolerate them to the best of my ability on your behalf._

_Yours truly,_

_The Master_

She lays the card on her desk with a slight smirk. "It's a very interesting card, love, thank you."

He smiles grandly while he pats his chest and replies, "It's from the hearts." Moments later, his expression returns to one of tediousness and he waves his hand dismissively towards her desk. "It was also all that they had left, much like everything you see here."

She offers him a sympathetic look which swiftly morphs to one of confusion when she picks up a child's lip gloss. "I couldn't find any decent perfume left anywhere so I thought I'd try this," he explains with a weary sigh. When her countenance remains one of bewilderment, he adds in an arrogant tone as though it should be obvious, "It's pear scented!"

Not to be deterred, Rose moves onto the rest of her gifts. She grins at the potted cactus, even when it pricks her finger as she moves it into a place of honor on her desk, right alongside the photo of her family. And she arches an eyebrow at him when she opens the pair of fuzzy handcuffs, apparently the one typical Valentine's Day item that was overflowing in abundance.

He leers salaciously at her as he shares; "Now we both have a set. And they're in pink," he points out excitedly, "I thought that you'd like that!"

"You're very considerate," she deadpans as she reaches for the next small item. To his annoyance, she releases a soft giggle when she opens the box. "Why on Earth did you buy this?" she asks laughingly.

"What he demands haughtily, immediately attaining a rigid stance in what he perceives to be laughter aimed at him. "It's your stuffed animal, what's wrong with it?"

Rose barks out a laugh before informing him, "This is a cat toy, Master!" She gently squeezes it to emit a high-pitched squeak. "Hear that? It mimics a mouse's squeak so that cats will play with it!"

He plucks the toy mouse out of her fingers and gives it a few squeezes while studying it carefully, before looking back at her in frustration. "So, what am I expected to do now? Am I supposed to go out and buy you a cat?"

"No," she denies with a slight shake of her head, "that won't be necessary." Rolling her eyes, she opens the last present. Once open, she peers inside at the contents and then proceeds to prop up her head by dropping her chin onto her hand. "And how do you explain this gift?"

He arches an inquiring eyebrow at her while chuckling in amusement. "Does it really need saying? It's a book, Rose."

She throws him a quelling glare that of course has no effect. "Yes, I'm well aware of that, thank you. What I meant was, why did you choose this particular book?"

"How should I know?" he answers with a shrug. "I know how much you enjoy reading and everyone at the bookstore was eager to grab a copy so it must be a worthwhile read, at least to you humans. Not to mention that all of the customers in line were raving about it."

Rose merely nods in acknowledgment of his reasoning before opening her desk drawer and dropping her new copy of Fifty Shades of Grey into her purse. She gives him a penetrating glance and teases, "So, is that it or is there anything else that I need to prepare myself for?"

"No, that's all," he responds blithely with a grim smile. "I hope you enjoy your crap."

She breaks out into laughter and then into a run around her desk to drop herself into his lap, his arms instantly winding their way around her. "I will enjoy it, love, as well as all of the effort that you've put into it." She glances dismally at her gifts. "Especially given with what you had to work with."

"I am nothing if not creative," he pronounces smugly. He starts kissing the side of her neck as he promises, "I'll prove that to you later."

He draws himself away from her and leans back against his chair as he muses, "You know, normally if I wanted to impress you, I'd simply subjugate a society in your honor. I did that once, took over Atlantis for the King's wife so that she could take the reigns." Rose's eyebrows rise in surprise at this admission of a past love, but before she can begin to interrogate him, he continues, "I say for her but truthfully it was only for me and she was as much of a pawn as the others. However, the society thing, we've already went over that before, haven't we?" he asks her with a glint of interest shining in his eyes. "You don't want me to do that, right?"

"Right," agrees Rose readily. "You're definitely far too impressive enough as it is without having to resort to that," she punctuates with a stern and threatening look.

"Yeah, okay, fine, but you're really making me work out of my element here." With a sneer of derision at the wide assortment of bits and pieces scattered on her desk, he suggests, "We can throw everything away on the way out if you want."

"What?" she utters with a mock gasp. "Discard these precious treasures?" She laughs at his furious expression before relenting and nuzzling into his chest. "I wouldn't trade them for the world." He eyes her suspiciously, expecting a witty retort to follow until Rose sobers enough to soothe him. "I'm serious, Master. They're from you so they're perfect. Other women swoon at theater tickets," she strokes his jaw lovingly with her fingers, "I know what I prefer."

"Well then," he perks up right away, "then you are in luck! I also happen to have a pair of movie theater tickets right here!" he divulges with a manic grin as he uses two fingers to tap his breast pocket.

 _I guess that explains the candy,_ concludes Rose. "Okay, let me have it, what will be watching?" she queries with a hint of anxiety tingeing her voice as images of adult movie theaters flash through her mind.

"I have no idea but it doesn't matter," he replies as he tugs her tight against him.

"And why's that then?" she asks intriguingly.

He offers her the filthiest smirk that she's ever seen before he whispers into her ear, "Because we'll both be too busy to watch the movie."

Her grin is pure seductions as she presses kisses to his mouth between each word. "Then…I…hope…it's…a…double…feature."

His only reply is to use his foot to push off from the ground to spin the chair in circles, causing his Rose to burst into a delightful fit of laughter, one he was all too glad to share. When she finally catches her breath and gazes into her Time Lord's loving gaze before succumbing to his kiss, she knows that her Valentine's Day will be special after all.


	3. Easter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holidays with a Time Lord aren't as much cause for celebration as you'd think. Set before Two Sides Of A Conversation. **Part of the Who's In Love With The Big Bad Wolf? series**

**Easter**

Rose stretches out her limbs as she notes the morning sun filtering through the blinds while she slowly comes to wakefulness. When she turns her head to check the time, she emits a groan of disappointment as she spies the other side of the bed empty. She had so wanted to surprise the Master with an Easter basket before he woke up.

 _Oh well, nothing for it I guess_ , she concludes as she heads into the ensuite for a nice hot shower to begin her day. _I'm sure he'll enjoy it anyway._

**8888888888888888**

The Master is sitting at the breakfast table when Rose enters the room and while bending down to wrap one arm around his neck to pull him towards her for a kiss, she uses her other arm to drop off a basket on the table in front of him. "Happy Easter, love!"

He glances down at the basket before him with idle curiosity and removes an egg from the basket. "Usually, I prefer them scrambled or at least boiled in an egg cup."

Rose rolls her eyes in slight annoyance as she plucks the egg from between his fingers. "They're not for eating, well, at least not yet. They're part of the theme, Master, the fun and spirit of the day!"

He stares back at her in concern. "And how exactly, do you perceive an egg to have spirit?"

"It's not the eggs themselves, it's what they represent." She trails her fingers down from his shoulder down to his hand to intertwine her fingers with his own. "They're symbols of spring and new life." She gazes at him softly. "I wanted us to celebrate our new life together."

His returning gaze and tone have lost all traces of cynicism as he lifts their hands up and brushes a kiss across the back of her hand. "That's something that I celebrate every day, Rose Tyler. I hardly need edible provisions to remind me."

Her lips quirk upwards in amusement at his statement, he may never be the greatest romantic of all time but he's honest with her and sincere and willing to share all of himself with her, and that's more than she's ever been able to experience with any man before now. All in all, she wouldn't change a thing about him.

"Speaking of celebrations though," she inquires, "shouldn't you have known that today was Easter? I thought Mum told you to go out and buy a calendar so that you could keep track of our holidays."

"She did," he remarks as he returns to his newspaper, "and I did buy a calendar, it's over on the desk under that stack of magazines."

Rose squints at the graphics on the cover and walks over to investigate it further to ensure that she's actually seeing what she's seeing. "This is a Wiccan calendar, Master," she notes as she indicates the various drawings of cartoon witches that decorate the cover and pages listing the various Wiccan holidays throughout the calendar. "Didn't you notice all of the witches?"

"Of course I did, Rose, it reminds me of your mother." He grins at his own jest before setting down the paper and turning to face her. "What?" he asks as he takes in her crossed arms and disapproving glare. "You said that I should accept that I'm a member of your family now. The calendar simply represents that fact; it's basically akin to the tradition of keeping a photograph of my mother-in-law on my desk."

"Oh, I would love to hear you explain that to her sometime," she responds drily.

The Master tosses her a huge grin as he simultaneously reaches under the table and ceremoniously drops his own Easter basket for her back on top of it. "Happy Easter, Rose Tyler!"

The basket is large, wrapped with cellophane, filled with large chocolate eggs and boiled eggs that are painted with, not mere colors or designs as the typical Easter basket would suggest, but with breathtaking bits of artwork, some she even recognizes from the Louvre.

She immediately dashes over to him and throws herself into his arms. "Master, I love it, it's gorgeous!" she declares breathlessly. "Thank you so much!"

He draws her into his lap and pulls her tighter against him. "You're very welcome. Now you have your very own _Master_ pieces!"

Rose rolls her eyes and reminds, "I thought that you were never going to lower yourself to our small-minded primitive humor?"

"Sorry, it couldn't be helped." His smile becomes almost sinister as he suggests, "So, go ahead," he gestures at the basket, "why don't you open it?"

"Why? What did you do to it?" she asks suspiciously. "I've heard the stories about your time at the Academy and I don't much fancy being on the receiving end of one of your practical jokes."

"That was a long time ago, Rose; I don't need to play tricks on you to amuse myself." He flashes a devious smile and adds, "That's what the Torchwood staff is for." Before she can muster a response, he holds up his hand and states, " _That_ was a joke." He taps the cellophane on the basket. " _This_ is a gift and one that I worked on especially for you as well as one for your brother."

"Tony too, hmmm?" She knows how much he loves Tony so it must be safe. She hopes.

"Yes," he declares a smugly. "Those aren't just ordinary chocolate Easter eggs, they contain a bit of Time Lord technology that makes them any child's dream come true."

"You don't mean," she questions laughingly in disbelief, "that they're bigger on the inside?"

The Master's nod in the affirmative is all the answer that Rose requires to send her scurrying off of his lap to open the basket. "Oh, this is amazing!" she chirps as she struggles with the wrapping, eager to view the hollowed eggs filled with sweets. "Tony will love you forever! Mum and Dad won't, but Tony will."

"I've had that basket ready for weeks now!" he declares proudly. "I learned my lesson from Valentine's Day; nothing's been left to chance."

Her stomach seems to drop at the same time as the proverbial penny when the cellophane gives way with a final tear and Rose is forced to jump back when the power of the basket's odor hits her.

She quickly turns her head and takes a deep breath before pouncing on the basket and tries to repair the gaping hole that she has made. He watches in bemusement as she repeatedly puffs up her cheeks while clutching the basket and scrambling for the First Aid kit that they had last used on Tony when he scraped his knee.

"Is there a problem?" he inquires while watching her use the entire roll of bandages to seal the hole.

A loud gasp permeates the air as Rose releases the breath that she's been holding and turns a furious gaze on the Master. He has no idea what she thinks he's done but he is most definitely sure that her lack of oxygen is the only thing saving him from another regeneration.

"You jerk!" she cries as she advances on him and he hastily leaps out of his chair. "You swore to me that you hadn't booby trapped it!"

"What are you talking about, Rose?" he asks in irritable confusion. "I didn't do anything to that basket other than put a lot of effort into it!"

"You're not kidding, are you?" she murmurs as her anger instantly dissipates at the affronted look that crosses his features. She considers binning the basket right away or at least in the kitchen, but she worries that without an explanation that his irritation will soon turn to outright fury and end with him storming out the door.

"Master," she quizzes with a sigh, "when you mentioned this basket being ready for weeks now, you didn't just mean the idea of it, did you? You actually meant that the _entire_ basket was ready for weeks, right?"

"That's what I said, Rose," he huffs in impatience. "Please don't ask me to repeat myself; you know how much that I hate to be redundant."

Her short-lived patience swiftly morphs into frustration. "Didn't you notice the incredible overwhelming stench coming from the eggs after a few days?"

"Now you're the one who's joking, right?" he asks defensively. "You have a six foot white rabbit with anthromorphic characteristics hiding painted eggs in Easter gardens all over the country and I'm supposed to be suspicious of a few overripe eggs?"

"You were supposed to refrigerate them after you boiled and painted them, Master!" she clarifies in exasperation. "And you do that _days_ before Easter, not _weeks_!"

Momentarily gazing off into space as he collects his thoughts, he rapidly searches his memories until he arrives at one in particular. "No, no there was absolutely no mention of doing any such thing in my calendar's mention of Ostara." When her brow wrinkles in confusion, he expounds, "That's the Wiccan holiday for Easter."

"So what do we do now?" he inquires casually, the thrill of his gift giving long gone.

"Throwing it away will be a start, I'm pretty sure that those bandages won't last forever." She stares at the basket in disgust before turning back to face him. "By the way, why aren't you affected by the smell?"

"Simple, extra respiratory bypass, Rose." His gaze is as heated and sinful as his smile. "You should know, you're rather intimately familiar with its uses from time to time."

"Yes," she returns completely unfazed while her tongue in teeth grin makes an appearance, "but I'm usually still left gasping for air then too."

When he moves forward to take her into his arms, she halts his progress by grabbing the basket off of the table and thrusting it into his arms. "And since you happen to have such superior alien physiology, _you_ can throw it out."

He drops it back down onto the table with a grimace and states, "Fine, we'll throw it away on the way out to the car when we go to your mother's house. In the meantime, you can try my hot cross buns."

"I'm not going near your hot cross buns until that basket has left this flat," declares Rose with an unwavering stance.

"No, not mine, though they are delectable, aren't they?" he notes cheekily before gesturing to the plate on the kitchen counter. "I made them this morning; I followed the recipe in the cook book so they should be fine. Cooking reminds me a bit of chemistry actually, might even try it again some time."

She heads into the kitchen and takes a deep breath at the fresh baked scent and considers it carefully before raising a bun to her lips. _Well, it smells good. How bad could it be?_

Her answer comes instantly as she finds herself running across the kitchen and spitting out the bite of food into the sink. She rinses the crumbs down the drain at the same time as she rinses her mouth out trying to rid herself of the taste. "What the hell was in that bun?"

"Oh, lots of things," he procrastinates as he realizes that his few additions to the recipe might have made things a bit too…flavorful.

"Like what exactly?" demands Rose as she pours herself a glass of milk to cool the burn.

"Well, there was everything that you would find in the regular recipe, which was incredibly bland by the way, even for Earth standards, and so I added a few items to it to enhance the flavor and truthfully render it 'hot' cross buns." She continues to stare at him silently as she awaits his answer. "I used pepper, curry and barbecue sauce, just to give it some extra zest."

She stares at him for a few more moments before throwing her head back and breaking into laughter. He's starting to worry that perhaps it's an allergic reaction to one of the ingredients that he added to the mix and is about to approach her when she walks over and gently kisses him and then utters, "Thank you."

"For what?" he inquires beyond mystified. "Apparently everything that I tried to do was a huge failure."

"Well yeah," Rose teases as he states the obvious, "but the point is that you tried and that means a lot to me." She reaches up and gives him another kiss. "However in the interest of more peaceful holidays, let's forget anything homemade and do all of our shopping from Tesco's, yeah?"

"And we'll never speak of this again, to anyone right?" he requests as they both know full well that Jackie's Christmases would come all at once if she knew what a fool he had been.

"We will never speak of it again," she vows fervently, "and possibly never celebrate it again either. Now we better head out to Mum's, I don't want to be late and I want to stop Tony from taking a peek at his basket before we get there."

She picks up her purse and keys from the table as the Master grabs Rose's basket to throw out and clears his throat to draw her attention to him. "Rose, we might need to do a bit of reconnaissance inside and around the mansion before we go after Tony's basket."

"Why?" she asks, his shifting gaze filling her with dread.

"The basket that the Easter bunny was holding on those television commercials didn't look very big so I thought I would offer my assistance to make Tony's Easter truly spectacular." Her mouth drops open in dismay before he even finishes his next statement. "So I hid six dozen eggs throughout the mansion and the surrounding gardens. Nobody would notice them as yet because I created a sort of olfactory perception filter to cover the smell. However, it's about to disperse anytime now."

Eyes widen as Rose grabs his hand and drags him to the door. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

"Wait, you're forgetting your Easter bonnet!" He tugs loose of her grip and waves a hand towards the hatbox on the couch. "Everything that I looked at seemed too ordinary for you so I cultivated the flowers myself."

Her gaze softens for just a moment before the hatbox starts inching its way across the cushions as a tapping sound comes from inside the box. "That's strange," murmurs the Master, "I was positive that strain wasn't mobile in this environment. No worries, it's one hundred percent contained until you're ready to open it."

 _Which will be never_ , concludes Rose silently."I think it would be best if I just skip a bonnet this year and we head straight over to Mum's, yeah?" she inquires urgently as she begins to usher him through the open door.

"Yes, alright," he agrees dismally as he ponders something while Rose scans the flat for any other hidden Easter surprises. "I probably shouldn't have used the excess flowers to make and send a bonnet over to your mother." He offers an apologetic smile and wonders aloud, "So would this be a bad time to tell them that we've decided to move in together?"

With a firm shove that sends him through the door and one last cautious glance at the hatbox on the go, she hurries him outside as she growls, "Gee, you think?"


	4. Attending Their First Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Holidays with a Time Lord aren't as much cause for celebration as you'd think. Set before Two Sides Of A Conversation. **Part of the Who's In Love With The Big Bad Wolf? series**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: This was originally intended to be four chapters but ideas just keep popping into my head and this one actually wrote itself at work today while I was at lunch. I now have no idea how long this story will be and I'm hoping that you're all enjoying it enough that you don't mind too much. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who.

"So this is an Earth wedding?" asks the Master uninterestedly while he scans the area in disdain. "How long do we have to stay?"

"Until the end of the ceremony would be nice!" hisses Rose under her breath as she attempts to listen to the couple as they exchange their vows. "Now will you _**please**_ be quiet?"

The Master offers her a scowl before settling down in a huff of frustration. To his credit, he does remain silent for all of thirty seconds before turning back to her. "It's simply that I don't understand why we're here. Not only do I barely tolerate these people at work but the mere act of this farce is a complete waste of our time!" He leans back in his chair as he releases a resigned sigh. "What is the point of all of these theatrics anyway?"

In a fruitless effort to calm herself down, she slowly counts to ten before answering him in a harsh whisper. "On _Earth_ , we have ceremonies where we invite our families and friends to share in the joy of vowing our love and commitment to the person that we want to share the rest of our life with. Didn't you have something similar on Gallifrey?"

"Yes, but with a lot less emotional drivel and a lot more paperwork." He squints at the couple standing before the minister and notes, "I hope they haven't unwrapped any of their gifts yet. With the way their timelines are weaving away from each other, I don't know which will last longer, their relationship or the ice sculpture."

Rose shoots him a deadly glare while an elderly woman shushes them from behind. "What?" demands the Master with an annoyed glance at the old woman. "We're not in a movie theater." At her affronted look, he offers a smug smirk and gestures towards the couple who have just been pronounced man and wife. "See? Now you made us miss the big finish."

With a defeated shake of her head and firm rub at her temples, Rose suggests, "Why don't I just give my congratulations to the happy couple and then we can go?"

He watches her weary expression as she rises from her chair to join the throng of well-wishers and inquires curiously, "What's the rush? I thought you wanted to be here for the rest of this mockery so that you could catch the garter and bouquet."

"The men catch the garter, Master, the women catch the bouquet," she responds with a trace of sadness in her tone and a deep sigh. "I'd much rather just go home."

"Are you sure?" he offers gallantly as he withdraws his laser screwdriver from his pocket. "I came prepared," he declares with a cheeky wink. "I didn't want you missing out."

Her only reply is to shake her head as he studies her unusually quiet reaction in response to him threatening to take out an opponent or two on her behalf. His gaze drifts past her to view the bride and her friends and family's dramatic reactions and grimaces with disgust. "Well, I doubt you're missing much besides drunken toasts and two people who are obviously in desperate need for attention," he remarks as he watches a flock of doves take to the sky.

She's still watching him with a somber expression as he hastens to her assure her while he lifts her hand to his mouth for a gentle kiss. "No worries, love, I can promise you that I will never put you through such a humiliating spectacle."

"Yeah, I know," acknowledges Rose with a nod of her head. "I think that I'm beginning to see that now."

As she turns to walk away to join the others, he considers her instantaneous change of attitude and her words, and realizes that if he doesn't rectify this situation soon that he never will have to worry about the possibility of an Earth union with Rose Tyler. Because she will have left him long before they come to that point in their relationship.

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The Master tosses Rose's keys onto the side table while barely catching her muttered, "Thanks for driving," before she strides past him and heads towards their bedroom without another word.

"Rose," he calls her back to him as she watches in confusion while he bears a pained expression of discomfort as he tries to gather his words. "I think we need to talk."

"You want to talk?" she asks suspiciously before her eyes light up with fire. "What have you done?"

"Nothing," he admits blithely, "which is why you're upset with me." She starts to shake her head in immediate denial but he reaches out to lay a hand alongside her face to still the movement. "I've not made my intentions clear to you."

Her expression becomes a bit guilty as she knows how much he hates discussing anything, but especially _feelings_ , and for the fact that he apparently feels the same even though neither of them have ever pressed the other for any type of commitment.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes as she steps forward and nestles into him. "You've nothing to feel bad about; I'm just having one of those days."

"One of those days where you miss _him_?" he asks a bit coldly. "Is it the man himself or your foolish imaginings that you could promise your forever to him and live a fairy tale happily ever after?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she spits as she presses her hands against his chest and shoves him away from her.

"I'm not him, Rose, and I'm never going to be and I need to be sure that you know that before I declare myself to you." He loosens his tie and tugs it free to throw it over the back of the couch before removing his suit jacket. "I need to know that I'm the one that you want."

"What are you talking about?" she cries in confusion. "You're the only one that I want!" She stalks back over to him and jabs her finger in his chest. "I have never been unfaithful to you, never once looked at another man since we started seeing each other and I have **never, ever** , not even once compared you to him, in any way!"

He rejects her refusal with an unwavering stare. "But you have, Rose, you compare me every day. Maybe not physically or even intellectually, although of course neither would be a very fair comparison, at least for him." She's about to roll her eyes at his stupid alien male pride when he hits the nail right on the head. "However, every day in every way you compare me to him. I may be a telepath, Rose, but I don't need to be one to know what you're thinking. You think I'm like him because you think I'm going to leave you behind."

"No," she whispers with an emphatic shake of her head in desperate denial of both his accusation and the truth in his words. "No…don't, don't say anymore."

"But I have to Rose, don't you see?" he pleads with her to see reason. "There's been too much left unsaid already." He grasps her shoulders and firmly squeezes them to ensure her attention. "I am not going to leave you, Rose Tyler, and I have never given you any reason to doubt that." He steps back and gives her a hard stare. "Now, I need you to believe that."

She swallows harshly before questioning in a broken voice, "How can you be so sure? You're a Time Lord, aren't you? Born to control and master time? How is a man like that supposed to be content to stay in one time and place when there's so much more out there?" Her lower lip trembles as she whispers in a biting tone, the one subject that is never discussed, that has haunted them since they had first came together as friends and then lovers, the Doctor. "He couldn't."

"And yet you still love him. What is it about him, Rose?" he requests callously. "What is it about a man who constantly leaves you behind at the drop of a hat and leaves you to die onboard a spaceship while he's off frolicking with another woman that curries this kind of favor?" He can't understand her right now, can't even fathom what is possibly going through her mind as he asks her this. He feels so confused, and oh, how he _loathes_ that feeling, that he's almost tempted to resort to begging for her answer. Almost, but he doesn't. Because she's right, he's still the Master, a Time Lord after all, and he doesn't beg for anyone.

He watches the tears trail down her face as she steels herself, and truthfully so does he, as she prepares to answer him. "I love him because he showed me the universe and made me feel like the center of his. He made me see how much more than I thought I was capable of and gave me the courage and confidence to prove that to anyone that challenged that. Anybody! Whether it was humans, aliens, himself or even me."

She uses her palms to wipe away her tears and confesses in a scarcely discernible voice, "And I hate him. Because he made me feel that way, made me feel that I was useful and important, not only to a world or to the universe, but to him…sometimes just him." She sniffs away a fresh onset of tears. "But then he left me. As soon as he regenerated he kept leaving me behind, not once looking back until I was in trouble, until I was about to die. And then she came and…," she takes a deep calming breath in order to continue. "And then he didn't look back at all."

"I'm not him, Rose," he reiterates forcefully. "I'm not him and I'm not leaving you. _**Ever**_."

"But you don't know that!" she shouts back, unable to hold back her pain and fear any longer. "You can't know that and I can't go through that again!" Her eyes well up and her lower lip trembles as she quiets down. "Don't you see? I can't survive losing you. I died once, you know. The Valiant Child died in battle and I don't think that I can bring myself back to life one more time."

"What more can I do, Rose?" he questions heatedly. "I've loved you, shared my life with you, even my secrets and my shame and I still can't convince you!" He turns away from her to work out his frustration by pacing back and forth. "If nothing I have said or done is going to convince you then maybe I should leave."

Her gaze widens in equal parts shock, horror and fear but her Tyler pride keeps all those feeling at bay as she accepts his decision. "Maybe you should."

"Maybe I will," he retorts without blinking. And for the briefest of moments she believes him and so does he, but in the end neither of them believes in anything but each other.

"Rose," he begins but is cut off as she rushes into his arms. "I'm sorry," they both declare at the same time.

"I am not leaving you, Rose," he presses kisses alongside her temple and holds her tight. "I'm not simply the Time Lord who's stayed with you, I'm the only one who's stayed," he tips her head up so that he can look her in the eyes. "And I always will."

"But how can you be so sure?" she asks fretfully, one last straight to the heart, risk it all question before she allows the last of her defenses to crumble. "How do you know that there's not something out there that you should still be searching for?"

"As a Time Lord, we are trained at the Academy, never to stop searching, whether it be for new scientific advances, new techniques in medicine or merely knowledge in general." He strokes his thumb along the apple of her cheek and finally reveals his greatest secret. "I found everything that I was searching for, Rose Tyler, when I found you."

Grinning madly, she crushes herself against him and holds him to her as if she'll never let him go. And maybe she won't because he's right; he's not the Doctor and neither is she. Neither of them are the type of people who are willing to let a once in a lifetime chance escape them, regardless of what lies in store for them.

"I love you," she proclaims while she clasps his face in between her hands and pelts him with kisses. "I love you so much."

And when she stares up at him, expecting a witty retort or some sort of patronizing banter, she is all at once both surprised and exhilarated to find him gazing back at her with unconditional love as he responds, "I love you too, my Rose, my Ouznyoc."

"And what does that mean when it's at home?" she inquires cheekily, trying to restore their normal pattern of repartee by lightening the mood.

He remains silent as he thinks back on his Gallifreyan heritage, how the women of his world would know without question exactly how fiercely he had just declared his intentions. The declaration being that she was his and his alone, disregarding any male suitor who came before him or might be foolish enough to dare challenge him for her, the protective, possessive and yes, even primitive intent that she was his mate, or in Earth terms, his wife. At least in his hearts.

"I'll tell you one day," he promises her. "When I know that you're ready." And before she can utter a single word of protest, he silences her with a kiss full of passion and promise of everything that is to come.

Because he's not the Doctor, he loves her wholeheartedly and has no problem admitting it either to himself or to her and he intends to remind her of that fact every day of their lives. Whether it be verbally, emotionally, or physically, however she may need the reassurance that he'll stay by her side, because he loves her that much.

Turns out that was the last coherent thought he had on the subject for that evening as they made their way into their bedroom. After all, everything really important had been said.


	5. Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is early days in the Master and Rose's relationship. The mention of Devil's End is from the Doctor Who television story, Daemons, and the blast that the Master refers to is referenced in another story of this series, The Chase Chapter 6.

_**Knock, knock! Knock, knock!** _

"That four knocks thing is really getting on my nerves," grumbles the Master as he opens the door to find a small moaning apparition standing before him on the doorstep of the Tyler mansion.

" _Wooooo, wooooo!"_ wails the little girl from underneath her bed sheet with a slight swaying motion before shouting, "Trick-or-Treat!"

The Master gives the youth a quick perusal and then instantly declares, "Nice outfit!"

"You really think so?" she asks excitedly as she gives a triumphant twirl much to her parents' amusement.

"No," scoffs the Master while simultaneously shutting the door in the tiny specter's hand-drawn and the adults more lively smiling faces.

"Master!" hisses Rose in admonishment as she hurriedly snatches the bowl of candy out of his hand and yanks the door open. "I am so sorry about that," she offers in heartfelt apology along with several fistfuls of candy into the little girl's pillowcase. "My friend has such a poor sense of humor, whereas I, myself, have always preferred the classic styles as opposed to the more modern store bought costumes." Rose drops in one last handful of candy in an attempt to make amends as she steps away from the family while displaying an overly bright smile.

She slowly closes the door as the bewildered family makes their way down the driveway before rounding on the Master in irritation. "And what was that all about? You're supposed to pass out candy to the kids, not insults!"

"You are joking aren't you?" he asks incredulously. "Did you see what she was wearing, Rose? It was a _bed sheet_!" He snorts in disgust before taking the bowl back and unwrapping a piece of candy for himself. "Do you honestly expect me to reward a child whose imagination stops at Asda's bed linen aisle?"

She finds herself unable to answer as she falls back against the door in exasperation as he casually remarks, "I hope that you didn't give away all of the good candy, it only makes it that much harder to replace what I come across in the children's pillowcases."

Rose pushes the tip of her witch's hat up with her forefinger to better her view as she narrows her eyes at him. "I'm sorry but I think I must have misheard you. Are you telling me that you're nicking these kids' sweets off of them, as in _taking candy from a baby_?

He finishes chewing his treat and swallows it down with a satisfied smile. "Of course, he replies nonchalantly as he unwraps another piece. Then upon noticing her ire, he points an accusing finger at her. "And don't give me that look! You knew what kind of a man that I was once you interrogated me!"

"Yeah," she admits grudgingly as she glances at her broomstick in the corner and wills away the temptation to knock some sense into him, "but this is a new low even for you."

"The candy is for the _**kids**_ ," she insists indignantly when she takes the bowl off of him just as he reaches for another piece, "not for _**you**_! They're dragging it around with them so that they can have it for later, not to provide you with offerings in some twisted sense of worship!"

"You don't know that for a fact, Rose," he responds blithely while concurrently calculating the chances of retrieving the bowl and making it all the way to Tony's treehouse. "Children these days come up with all sorts of mad ideas."

Rose clutches the bowl firmly against the side of her that's farthest away from him, "That's it! You are through handing out sweets for the rest of the night!"

"Suits me," he remarks with an easy grin. "I've had more than my fill of tiny terrors and their wretched little ballads instructing me to smell their feet, as if I needed any enlightenment in that particular area." He wrinkles his nose in distaste. "Thanks to my Gallifreyan senses, I can smell more than just their feet." His mouth twists into a grimace. "Human children need to bathe more."

When Rose continues to remain silent, he eyes her curiously and questions, "Why are you nagging me anyway?" He gives a sharp tug on the brim of her hat. "Aren't you stepping a bit too much into character?"

Rose pulls away from him and strides past him to go into the living room. "At least I'm getting into the spirit of the holiday! What happened to the costume that you told me that you were going to wear?"

"I am wearing a costume," he insists haughtily as he straightens his tie, "I'm the Prime Minister."

"That's crap," she denotes grumpily as she flops down onto the couch. "Anyway, they have a president over here." She turns towards him as he seats himself beside her. "If you wanted to wear your suit then you could have at least painted your face up. You know, like from Dad's KISS Dressed To Kill album."

He shoots her a dry stare while the rest of his expression clearly displays his revulsion. "Right, like I'm going to bring greasepaint anywhere near this suit. It's _Armani_ , Rose. Besides, Tony didn't seem to mind when we took him out earlier."

"Oh please," she mumbles pitifully, "don't remind me."

_**Flashback…** _

_Knock, knock!_

_Tony's practically bouncing up and down with excitement as he stands between his sister and the Master but rapidly settles down once the front door opens. "Trick-or-Treat, please!" he requests before following up with a Frankenstein-like grunt and holding out his pillowcase for some candy._

" _Oh, my goodness!" shrieks the woman dressed as a banshee. "What a fright you gave me!"_

_As her husband strolls out to view the latest trick-or-treater, he takes in Tony's costume with a huge smile as he tugs on the matching jacket of his own Frankenstein costume. "Well, I hope that our house isn't too scary for you, lad. We wouldn't want to give you any nightmares!"_

_The women laugh politely and Tony offers a wide grin while patiently holding out his pillowcase as the Master surveys his surroundings. The haunted house before him is covered with cobwebs and a vast array of jack-o-lanterns with scary faces while the front yard is filled with plastic sheet ghosts, owls with lights that blink on and off, styrofoam tombstones and a hidden stereo emitting creaking and groaning noises._

" _I wouldn't lose any sleep over it," assures the Master in a bored tone. "The house down the street is much scarier; they were actually handing out candy that said 'Happy Valentine's Day' on it." He gives a shudder at the recollection. "Now that's truly frightening!"_

_The group of adults and Tony merely stare on in silence while the Master makes his way over to fish through the couple's bowl of candy. "This is acceptable for children of course, seeing as how they're not all that particular about what they consume but I have a much more refined palate." He eyes the couple hopefully. "I'm assuming that you must have something better in the house to offer. Apparently, you have more than enough revenue to fund this little fun house monstrosity, so surely you must be earning enough to afford some fairly decent chocolate." When the couple's only reply to the Master's query is to stare blankly, he huffs impatiently and proposes with barely restrained rudeness, "Well, aren't you going to invite us in?"_

_That was actually the very moment that Tony started sharing his Halloween candy with the Master as the young boy quickly devised that it was the only way to keep him quiet. Rose was rather proud of her brother for coming up with that._

_**End Flashback…** _

The Master dismisses the entire encounter with a smug smirk. "I don't see why you're so bothered. By the time we left, I had them eating out of the palm of my hand."

Rose snorts in disgust. "More like the other way around, mate! I was never so embarrassed in my life when you asked for a carryout bag!"

"A traveler's lunch, Rose," he corrects reasonably. "When I was in the Academy, we would always take one with us whenever our studies took us away from the Citadel. And as our willing hosts, they were more than happy to comply."

She swivels around to face him, her expression full of disbelief. "Only so they could be shut of you! Open your eyes, man! They gave you a box of chocolates with a card that said, 'Happy 80th birthday Nana'!"

"Yes," he acknowledges with a slight frown. "Hardly a suitable gift for an elderly human," he muses before turning to her with a smug grin, "how fortunate for her that I happened to come along."

Rose throws herself back against the couch cushions in frustration. "Is that all that Halloween means to you, the candy? What about the fun and the imagination?" Her tone changes to one of curiosity as she inquires, "Didn't you ever have something similar on Gallifrey?"

"No, not really," recalls the Master rather benignly. "The closest event that we had for dressing up in costume was the more formal occasions that involved the High Council." Suddenly, the Master's eyes light up with glee as he releases a loud laugh and turns to Rose with a malicious grin. "Which reminds me, I have to tell you about this one election for Lord President in particular…you'd never believe who won and it was all thanks to me!" He links his fingers behind his head as he leans back into the couch cushions. "You know, I bet that I could do really well in politics."

"Yeah," she mocks with a trace of laughter, "that'll be the day." Rose reaches into the bowl and starts unwrapping a piece of candy for herself as she eyes him inquisitively. "So in all of your travels and your time on Earth, you never once came across _any_ festivals or celebrations that were similar to Halloween?"

"Well, of course there were a few events that were similar; I simply never chose to be a participant." His brow furrows as a particular memory flashes across his mind. "No wait, I take that back. There was this one instance on Earth that I masqueraded as the new local vicar of this quaint little village called Devil's End. I dubbed myself the Reverend Magister and conducted ceremonies in the caverns below the church to summon the Daemon Azal so that I could rule the world." Rose notices with slight morbid fascination at how he looks rather pleased with himself when he reminisces in a fond tone, "I even had my own followers. Of course, they were under hypnosis, but still…it felt nice to be needed."

Rose offers a dry stare and shake of her head as she remarks, "Gee, I'm sorry that I missed that."

He darts a shrewd glance in her direction before brushing imaginary lint off of his trousers while chiding, "Now, now, there's no need for the Big Bad Wolf to go into a huff over my past misdeeds." He turns to her with an almost angry expression. "And I'll have you know that I paid dearly for that crime. After I was captured at the end of my endeavor, I was forced to remain under the Doctor's watchful eye along with that of U.N.I.T.'s mistrustful gaze. Believe me," he insists with a grimace as he crosses his arms defensively over his chest, "receiving regular visits from the Doctor and Jo Grant?" He exhibits a fierce shudder. "I made my retribution."

Rose's laughter soon trails off into a giggle and they sit in companionable silence until the Master turns to her with a haunted look in his eyes, the one that he bears whenever he reflects on the Time War. "Besides," he states quietly, "I'm not that man anymore. I've had enough of death, destruction and attempts to rule the universe to last me the rest of my lives."

Rose refuses to appear sorrowful or pitying; she knows how much he hates that. Instead, she stretches out her arm to interlock their fingers together and curls into his side. "I know you have," she murmurs softly. "And although I haven't known you very long, I can still tell that you haven't been that way for a very long time." For a while, it's only the barely imperceptible tightening of his fingers around hers that is the only proof that he acknowledges her presence. He eventually wraps his free arm around her and rests his chin atop her head while she whispers, "We'll get through this, I promise."

His mouth immediately tightens in frustration but he doesn't move away from her as he curtly replies, "I've told you before, Rose, I am **not** a hero who has returned from war so stop trying to make me out to be one."

Rose's lips twitch into a smile as she angles her head to stare up at him. "You don't have to tell me twice, mate! Most heroes don't go nicking sweets off sprogs and pensioners."

He cranes his neck to gape at her in indignant disbelief. "You're really not going to let that one go, are you?"

Rose laughs in delight and vows, "Not a chance! I'll be trotting out that little gem for years to come!"

He gazes at her more with affection than annoyance as he fights off a small grin at the thought of spending years with Rose Tyler and gruffly mutters, "See that you do." Pulling away from her in order to sit up straighter, he turns to face her and queries, "So what's next on tonight's alien agenda of fun and hijinks? Bobbing for pears?"

"That's bobbing for apples," corrects Rose in amusement as she recalls how appalled he looked when Tony had introduced him to that particular activity.

"I know," he responds casually as his gaze flickers over the candy bowl before coming to rest on her. "I just happen to prefer pears."

 _That explains a lot_ , she acknowledges silently as she offers him a simple nod and remembers the time that her mother once offered a dish of pears and syrup to the Doctor. Rose had watched him face down a Dalek with less disgust.

Shaking herself free of the memory, she leans over and plucks a dvd off of the coffee table and hands it to him. "I thought that a night of classic horror movies would be in order and that we could start with Dracula."

The Master quickly scans the synopsis on the back of the dvd. "So he had _**three brides**_? Was he certifiably insane? Why in Rassilon's name would he want to be constantly nagged at by three women? I could barely tolerate one!" His laughter dies off as he glances over at Rose to find her arching an inquiring eyebrow in his direction. "Unless it was the right woman," he amends with a flirtatious smile.

"Oh, please," she rebuffs with a knowing smirk. "A master of time and space you may be but a master of chat up lines you are not!"

He slumps back against the cushions in defeat, resigning himself to an evening of what passes for human fun. "Is this all that our night is going to amount to?" he inquires in a tone oozing self-pity.

"Well, yeah," scoffs Rose derisively, "it is since you ate all the good candy!" She begins digging through the candy bowl in earnest. "Oi! Where are all of the Nestle's Roses and Walnut Whips?"

"Sorry, I ate all of those." He picks up a piece of candy and offers it to her. "Why don't you try a Roundtree? The little beggars don't seem to mind accepting them."

"Accepting them or _exchanging_ them?" she wonders aloud while giving him a deliberate stare.

"Does it truly matter?" he questions with a trace of bewilderment. "After all, since the candy is free, then it shouldn't matter what they take away with them."

Rose drops the bowl down onto his lap in frustration. "Not anymore, thanks to _you_! You selfish, greedy pig of a Time Lord," she mutters under her breath while still ensuring that it's loud enough for him to hear.

He casually sorts through the bowl and selects one last edible piece, at least in his eyes, while murmuring, "Flatterer." Picking up the extra prosthetic bits of Tony's costume, he runs his fingers over its latex surface in curiosity. "What exactly is the attraction of Halloween anyway, what with the wearing of masks and all?"

Rose expresses a soft smile as she remembers past fancy dress parties. "I don't know…I guess it's just a bit of fun and having a laugh. And of course, it gives you the chance to be something that you've always wanted to be." She rests her arm along the back of the couch and props up her head in her hand. "Didn't you ever want to be someone else?"

"And why would I?" he asks in sincere confusion.

She manages to stifle a giggle as she mock apologizes, "Sorry, I must have lost my head for a moment. Honestly though, you never wanted to pretend to be someone else?" She promptly halts his answer by raising her hand in the air. "And I don't mean masquerading as someone else in order to take over the world or something of the like."

"Oh," he quickly realizes with a widening of his eyes, "then, no." His eyes narrow as he studies her closely. "So, what is this obsession of your species to want to be someone else? Why not simply be content with being human? As dismal a prospect as that is."

Before Rose can reply, the ringing of the doorbell immediately propels the Master to collect the candy bowl and rush to the door while gleefully declaring, "More candy coming up! We'll discuss human idiosyncrasies further once my next contributor has left!"

The Master takes a moment to straighten his tie and reshuffle the candy before donning his best welcoming smile and opening the door. Upon seeing their latest arrival, his expression immediately changes to one of shock as he surveys a miniature replica of himself, right down to the Harrods dress shoes. "And who are you supposed to be?"

The young boy offers an eye roll and the tired sigh of someone who has been asked that particular question far too many times in one night. "I'm the Prime Minister," he proclaims haughtily as he draws himself up to his full height and smoothes down his tie.

The Master balances the candy bowl against his hip. "I thought that this universe's England was ruled by a president."

"Does it matter?" responds the boy in a bored tone. "It's Halloween after all." Then suddenly something clicks in the youth's mind and his gaze flicks upwards to the Master. "Did you just say _this_ universe?" His gaze intensifies as it rakes over the Time Lord. "That explains a lot."

The Master's countenance hardens as he contemplates the boy with suspicion. "Why do you say that?"

Ironically, the boy speaks in a tone indicating that his statement should be obvious to a child, "Because I can to see your timelines."

Instantly on the alert, the Master concentrates every sense that he has on the boy. He steadfastly delivers his own examination until he arrives at the conclusion that he is seeking. "I see that I'm not the only one who was misplaced from another universe." His eyes narrow to mere slits as he finalizes his assessment. "And by the familiarity of your timelines, I would have to say that you're from my original universe. You're Delgadoian, I presume?"

"Yes," he replies quietly while tilting his head to indicate the couple standing at the end of the driveway, "myself and my parents." Pain and weariness settle across the boy's face and as he begins to tell his story, the Master silently acknowledges the extreme expression of maturity on one so young. "Our planet was invaded by Daleks. It wasn't long before we were overrun with them, our technology all but useless. The very last thing that my parents and I remember is a loud explosion and then waking up here. We've been able to maintain a low profile as we assimilate into this world's culture. Fortunately for us, Terrans are as humanoid as Delgadoians."

The Master's tone is devoid of any emotion as he inquires, "I'm assuming that you lived in Ainsley, then?"

The boy takes a step back at the accuracy of the question. "How did you know that?"

"It's my fault that you're here," admits the Master in a tone full of regret. "It's also why I'm here. The blast was meant to destroy the Daleks but it also ended up sending us through some open cracks in space."

The boy can only stare up at him in silence, his jaw clenched and eyes shining bright with tears that he refuses to let fall as he attempts to process this unexpected response. Feeling more uncomfortable as the silence prolongs itself, the Master takes a deep breath and offers an uncharacteristic heartfelt apology. "I'm sorry, I did my best."

"I know," returns the boy in a gravelly voice, "and that's why my parents and I are still alive."

The Master blinks in astonishment at the youth's gracious acceptance and the two outsiders stare at each other while they each search for a way to return to a sense of normalcy and decorum where they can both feel comfortable.

"I assume that you're going to eventually offer me some of that candy?" questions the boy with a sniffle. "My parents are bound to be suspicious at why I've been gone so long and I'd prefer that they not have to face any reminders of our old universe just yet."

The innocent, yet rather blunt remark startles the Master out of his discomfiture and prods him to thrust the candy bowl back towards the boy. "Here, take your pick."

Staring down into the bowl, the young alien's lip begins to curl in distaste as he roams its contents. "Is this it, seriously? Even the cottage down the road had Lion Bars!"

Deciding that he's had enough turmoil for one night, the Master issues a reluctant sigh of surrender and then reaches behind the door for an unopened bag of Double Deckers. "I was saving these for later," he notes petulantly.

"I'm not surprised," is the reply while the Master opens the bag and drops a few handfuls of candy into his pillowcase, and then a few more when the boy shakes it about when he deems the offering too meager. "Especially when you consider the unexceptional quality of goods that remains in your bowl."

The Time Lord casts a morose eye over the now half-filled bag of Double Deckers. "Is that sufficient?"

"I suppose so," concedes the youth with a bored sigh. "Although, I would expect something more extravagant and at least more appetizing from Tony Tyler's abode."

"You know Tony?" he asks surprisingly.

"Yes, we're in the same class at school, I go by the name of John Simms here. Give him my regards and tell him to contact me for a playdate." He gives the Master an appraising once over that ends with a satisfied nod. "Tony can't be all that dull if he mingles with aliens. Well, good evening!" he declares curtly before pivoting on his heel and heading down the driveway towards his parents.

 _John Simms, hmmm?_ ponders the Master. _Well, I suppose anything is better than John Smith._ Withan amused shake of his head, he goes back inside the house and leaves the candy bowl on the hallway table while keeping the remnants of the Double Deckers bag firmly against his side.

Completely engrossed in the film, Rose barely acknowledges his return and only spares him a swift glance as he sits down alongside her. "So, what little ghoul appeared at the door this time?"

"The Ghost of Christmas Past," he answers dryly, refusing to expound any further when she turns to him with a questioning gaze.

He casually drapes his arm around her, "Now, where were we?"

"You were wondering why humans tend to want to be someone else, why we feel the need to wear masks…" her voice trails off as she becomes lost in thought, something that the Master notes and questions with great interest. "And do you feel the need to be that way with me?"

"No," she assures him readily, "not with you." She returns her gaze to the television without really watching it, trying to bide her time until she can face down her old fears while adding in a shaky rasp, "But I did with him."

Neither of them needs to clarify the _**him**_ to whom she is referring. She continues to focus on the film as she makes her confession, avoiding his gaze not because of some misplaced sense of embarrassment or shame, but because of the pity she might see reflected there instead of the anger that any mention of the Doctor usually evokes.

When she speaks, her tone sounds as far off as her memories have taken her. "I never felt like I could quite be myself with him…not completely. I always felt like I needed to be so much more so I'd put on this mask from the moment that I woke up until I went to sleep. One that showed what I felt was what I needed to be for him, one that he inspired me to want to be for him." She releases a sigh full of remorse. "Sometimes I wonder if I let it slip one too many times or left some cracks that allowed the pretense to fall away and let the real me shine through just a bit too much." It's only then that her voice carries the slightest hint of embarrassment or shame and even with his superior hearing, he has to strain to catch her mumbled, "Although I doubt even that would have helped me compete with _**her**_ _._

They've also never spoken of this _**her**_ that she sometimes unknowingly refers to but he doesn't feel that they need to, at least not until Rose feels that she's ready. The woman obviously caused her great pain and distress and he is left in no doubt that the Doctor was largely, if not entirely at fault. He suspects that the Doctor had tried to induct this woman as one of his TARDIS tag-a-longs while he rubbed Rose's face in it. The Master was absolutely clueless as to what she saw in that pitiful excuse for a Time Lord but he did know that she deserved so much better than _**him.**_ "You don't need to wear a mask, Rose, especially with me."

"I know," she states firmly, her voice tinged with wonder. "And you have no idea what a gift that is to me. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to be so afraid to let your guard down, to worry that you've allowed just one chink in your armor to show because if you're not at your absolute best than you keep finding yourself left on your own in favor of somebody better? And it's so demeaning," she finishes in a harsh whisper.

She takes a deep breath to calm herself down and gaze down at their interlocked fingers that the Master has laced together. "But it's not that way with you and it doesn't feel that it ever will be. You accept me for who I am, faults and all, and you may point out my mistakes to me, _a lot_ ," they both share laughing grins, "but you don't make me feel any less than what I am for them and I can't tell you how much I appreciate that." She looks over to him, the relief and gratitude in her heart reflected in her gaze. "How much I've needed that."

She leans over and brushes a kiss across his cheek. "Do you know what else you need?" he asks seriously. She shakes her head in the negative. "Better aim."

"Maybe someday," she responds half teasingly as she settles back comfortably against him before losing herself in the film once again.

 _Someday_ , he muses as he watches the images flash across the television. He could wait. He knew that they couldn't be considered the 'Stuff of Legend', _yet_ , but he did know one thing for certain. There was nowhere else that he'd rather be or anyone else that he'd rather be with than Rose Tyler.

**THE END**


End file.
